Armed Forces Call up Medics as Britain Goes on a War Footing in Europe - Interesting News

Interesting World News

Armed Forces Call up Medics as Britain Goes on a War Footing

Reservists told to be ready within two months as battle over wording of resolution goes on at UN
October 27, 2002
Kamal Ahmed, political editor

The Ministry of Defence is to call up hundreds of armed forces' medical staff in the first significant sign that Britain is putting itself on a final war footing for conflict with Iraq.

The MoD will lay an order in the House of Commons in the next fortnight which will say that air evacuation staff, field hospital unit staff, individual consultants and nurses should be ready to 'enter into conflict' within two months.

Defence sources said that, although the order will be made as part of the broader 'war against terrorism', the actual reason for the call-up of reservists was the possibility of an attack on Saddam Hussein.

'The reason for this is clear,' said one government source. 'If we do not move now, we will not be ready for the winter period should there be a need to act. When you are preparing for conflict you can process about 200 people a day from the reserves, so we have to start that now. This is about Iraq and everybody is aware of that.'

Before the Gulf War 12 years ago, about 1,500 reserve personnel were called up for a final military operation that involved 45,000 troops. They were mostly medical staff who usually work in the NHS but are part-time members of the Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Navy.

The present call-up will be about two-thirds of the size. Although they will only make up a small proportion of the actual number of troops to be committed by Britain - believed to be in the region of 25,000 - they are essential members of the force because of their medical expertise.

Four Royal Navy minesweepers are already on their way to the Gulf to join the increasing US presence in the area. Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, is believed to have indicated to the Pentagon that British troops will be ready for action by the new year.

Yesterday the Kuwaiti government announced that it was sealing off a vast area of the country so that US military manoeuvres can be expanded.

The country's military spokesman said that the move was a 'precautionary measure' aimed at providing security for American personnel. Earlier this month, Muslim extremists launched two attacks on US military personnel, killing one Marine and wounding another.

The area sealed off is the equivalent to one quarter of the whole country, which shares a border with Iraq.

American forces have been arriving in Kuwait for months. With the military build-up continuing, British officials yesterday said they are hopeful that a new 'two-stage' United Nations resolution on Iraq will be signed in the next seven days, despite continuing tensions between the United States, Russia and France.

Yesterday France claimed a victory in the battle with the US over the UN resolution, which President Jacques Chirac says should not threaten direct military action.

In a highly unusual move, both France and Russia published their own resolution wordings this weekend in an effort to garner support among the other 15 members of the UN Security Council.

With the US resolution already circulating among the Security Council members, there are now three documents on the table for the UN to consider.

The US and Britain want a resolution which sets tough new rules for UN weapons inspections and a declaration that Iraq faces 'serious consequences' if it fails to comply. Russia wants to stick more closely to the present resolution and eliminate any language which could be used as a pretext for a future military attack on Baghdad.

France is now emerging as the potential broker, pushing a two-stage resolution which would initially put into place a new inspections regime before a wider discussion about what to do if Saddam fails to comply.

The US deputy ambassador to the UN, James Cunningham, made it clear yesterday that the United States wants a vote on its resolution by the end of the week. Diplomats said the vote will almost certainly take place by Thursday.

Russia revealed there was still a long way to go before agreement could be reached.

'The whole thrust of the [US] concept is anti-Iraqi and aimed at possible military action against Iraq in case of any omissions or misunderstandings,' Russia's deputy UN ambassador, Gennady Gatilov, said.

'We did this [published a resolution] just to illustrate that there are some other ideas about how we can deal with the Iraqi situation, and what we can do in order to send the inspectors back on the ground as soon as possible.'

Russia's text eliminates all US references to 'material breach' by Iraq and 'serious consequences' - language it says could trigger a military attack if Saddam obstructs inspections.

France also removed references to 'material breach'. The French proposal would link 'serious consequences' to a failure of Iraqi compliance reported by UN inspectors, in contrast to the general warning of 'serious consequences' in the US proposal.

China's UN Ambassador, Wang Yingfan, said he favoured the French version.

Cunningham denied that there was any hidden military agenda.

'We didn't bring this issue into the Security Council to look for authorisation to use military force,' he said. 'We brought it into the Security Council to send a clear message to Iraq and to strengthen and reinforce the inspections regime so it can have a chance at success.'

Link to Article Source

Universal 7 Radio | gtbroadcasting.com | GlobalEnquirer.com | Comment

FAIR USE NOTICE. Many of the stories on this site contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making this material available in its efforts to advance the understanding of environmental issues and sustainability, human rights, economic and political democracy, and issues of social justice. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use such copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use'...you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

Diana Nightingale
International speaker, author, mentor and life coach

Dr. Laffitte
Right hand man of Martin Luther King

Jennifer Hudson
Oscar and American Idol Winner

Flavor Flav
Rap Artist

Sally Jessy Raphael
TV and Radio Personality

Gary Busey

Harry G. Belafonte
American musician
actor and social activist

Robert L. Carothers
President of the University of Rhode Island

Les Brown
Motivational Speaker & Best Selling Author

Dr. Louis Turi
The World's Greatest Astrologer

LL Cool J
Party, Rap Artist

Dannion Brinkley
Autobiography "Saved by the Light"

Lucy Arnez
Actress

Don
the Forensics Expert who handled the bullet that Killed MLK

Percy Sledge
Who Wrote When a Man Loves a Woman

Bibi McGill
Beyonc�'s Lead Guitarist

Stevie Wonder

James O�Neil
Former Attorney General of RI

Richard Paul Evans
Bestselling author of the Christmas Box Miracle

National President of Phi Kappa Phi

Aretha Franklin
The Queen of Soul

George Zaharoff
International Designer

John J. Kennedy
Presidential Candidate

Jim "Supermind" Karol
The Real Life Rain Man Meets Rocky Balboa

Jane Kennedy
Actress & Miss America

Sally Jessy Raphael
TV and Radio Personality

Wayne Dyer
Bestselling author of You Will See it When You Believe it and TV personality

Brandon Bays
Bestselling Author of the book "The Journey"

Nicole Whitney
Radio Talk Show Host and Founder of News for the Soul, Rated by AOL and Google #1 Radio Talk Show on the Internet

Anne Marie Evers
Author of Your Passport to Happiness

Matthew Adams
Co-Author Chicken Soup for the Soul

Dannion Brinkley
Autobiography "Saved by the Light"

Sarah Simmons
Radio Talk Show Host and Author

Susan Crossen
Author and Radio Talk Show Host

Don Shula
Former Miami Dolphins coach with the most wins in NFL history

Bruce Sundlun
Former Governor

Palane Miedaner
Author of Coach Yourself to Success, seen on all the major television programs

Bishop Jordan
Author of The Laws of Thinking